Honestly? the set does look good, but I think people need to be presenting more creative color schemes for GMK, like Nub's skeletor. This is the reason why GMK sets have been failing and I think I would like to see a colorfull creative color scheme. Just my 2 cents and hope I am not to much offtopic here, the set does look great although much of it can be replicate with existing set, besides the pad printed legends, although for me those count as 0.

I like how it looks I am just concerned with MOQ, this set really has to be on point and attract a lot of interest With so many GMK buys still on going, I doubt people have more money they are able to set aside and tie up into a group buy. I mean right now I have over $500 between 3 buys.. I would make it one kit, regardless of price. That way you only need to sell 150 kit total.

Honestly? the set does look good, but I think people need to be presenting more creative color schemes for GMK, like Nub's skeletor. This is the reason why GMK sets have been failing and I think I would like to see a colorfull creative color scheme. Just my 2 cents and hope I am not to much offtopic here, the set does look great although much of it can be replicate with existing set, besides the pad printed legends, although for me those count as 0.

Thanks, I really appreciate the feedback. I think the creative color schemes like Skeletor are awesome, but there is also something to be said about how GMK production (especially the profile) lends itself really well to recreation or reinterpretation of classic designs. This might be part of the reason that even colorful GMK designs tend to play it safe in other ways, focusing on color as a contrast to white, beige, grey, or black.

I like how it looks I am just concerned with MOQ, this set really has to be on point and attract a lot of interest With so many GMK buys still on going, I doubt people have more money they are able to set aside and tie up into a group buy. I mean right now I have over $500 between 3 buys.. I would make it one kit, regardless of price. That way you only need to sell 150 kit total.

I think this is also a really good point. When and how it is run will be seriously contingent on what the buy environment is like when the design reaches that point. Optimizing the kits to make sure they can be minimal enough to make MOQ is a top priority at the moment.

After seeing the mockup for a few minutes each detail of the design adds as another reason to get this set, while thinking, well it should have this, I found the feature included and felt like I have to get it. Congratulations! the design rocks!. Now our keyboards may be reminiscent of the space exploration.

One minor suggestion, that is more aspirational than an actual need, is a 1u Alt or Alt Gr key; otherwise, if you want to provide support for 1800 you will need all the modifiers in 1u; however, the priority is to keep its price low to get as many interested parties as possible, turning into buyers.

A lesson learned with a recent drop for a GMK set with pad printed legends was that their use on a key cap set design is controversial and a reason to complain and to not get into the buy; people that are accustomed to the cheap pad printing used in stock key cap sets think that GMK pad printing will run off quickly, as quickly as those cheap sets printing. My experience with OG Cherry is that they last for ages with no signs of wear, but I cannot say that the same applies to GMK. This is one important point, no one has long time experience with GMK pad printing to offer witness testimony on its longevity. Considering this you may try to quote side printing, that may rule this out as a potential issue and another reason for people not to get into the buy. Besides, having these legends side pad printed would be a first and it could make this one a very special set on its own right, a set that will be a legend. If the quotation is too high, you may re-consider the use of pad printing, because in an expensive set like this there is no room for the risk to have a worn off legend after few months.

A lesson learned with a recent drop for a GMK set with pad printed legends was that their use on a key cap set design is controversial and a reason to complain and to not get into the buy; people that are accustomed to the cheap pad printing used in stock key cap sets think that GMK pad printing will run off quickly, as quickly as those cheap sets printing. My experience with OG Cherry is that they last for ages with no signs of wear, but I cannot say that the same applies to GMK. This is one important point, no one has long time experience with GMK pad printing to offer witness testimony on its longevity. Considering this you may try to quote side printing, that may rule this out as a potential issue and another reason for people not to get into the buy. Besides, having these legends side pad printed would be a first and it could make this one a very special set on its own right, a set that will be a legend. If the quotation is too high, you may re-consider the use of pad printing, because in an expensive set like this there is no room for the risk to have a worn off legend after few months.

I share your concerns about pad printing. We all know that it doesn't hold up very well on the budget cap sets, but how long lasting is GMK's pad printing process? I don't store my boards inside of display cases, I use them. I'm not going to pay a premium for any caps that can not stand up to daily use, no matter how attractive they are. Can anyone allay my fears about the pad printing process, as executed by GMK?

A lesson learned with a recent drop for a GMK set with pad printed legends was that their use on a key cap set design is controversial and a reason to complain and to not get into the buy; people that are accustomed to the cheap pad printing used in stock key cap sets think that GMK pad printing will run off quickly, as quickly as those cheap sets printing. My experience with OG Cherry is that they last for ages with no signs of wear, but I cannot say that the same applies to GMK. This is one important point, no one has long time experience with GMK pad printing to offer witness testimony on its longevity. Considering this you may try to quote side printing, that may rule this out as a potential issue and another reason for people not to get into the buy. Besides, having these legends side pad printed would be a first and it could make this one a very special set on its own right, a set that will be a legend. If the quotation is too high, you may re-consider the use of pad printing, because in an expensive set like this there is no room for the risk to have a worn off legend after few months.

I share your concerns about pad printing. We all know that it doesn't hold up very well on the budget cap sets, but how long lasting is GMK's pad printing process? I don't store my boards inside of display cases, I use them. I'm not going to pay a premium for any caps that can not stand up to daily use, no matter how attractive they are. Can anyone allay my fears about the pad printing process, as executed by GMK?

i would suggest you check out the electric bluegaloo thread. there were side-printed legends on some of those caps. incredibly good quality. i dont know if anyone can attest to the longevity of GMK's pad printing, but the legend quality is certainly some of the best in the world

A lesson learned with a recent drop for a GMK set with pad printed legends was that their use on a key cap set design is controversial and a reason to complain and to not get into the buy; people that are accustomed to the cheap pad printing used in stock key cap sets think that GMK pad printing will run off quickly, as quickly as those cheap sets printing. My experience with OG Cherry is that they last for ages with no signs of wear, but I cannot say that the same applies to GMK. This is one important point, no one has long time experience with GMK pad printing to offer witness testimony on its longevity. Considering this you may try to quote side printing, that may rule this out as a potential issue and another reason for people not to get into the buy. Besides, having these legends side pad printed would be a first and it could make this one a very special set on its own right, a set that will be a legend. If the quotation is too high, you may re-consider the use of pad printing, because in an expensive set like this there is no room for the risk to have a worn off legend after few months.

Thanks, this is really valuable feedback. I have a pretty positive impression of the OG Cherry pad-prints, even when they begin to show some wear after the years. I think its similar to the character added by eventual shine or yellowing on good quality ABS. However, it would definitely be worthwhile to look into the longevity of GMK pad-prints as wearing off after not much use would be a bummer.

I'm inclined against front printing, as I think the subtlety would take away some of the set's character, but I could probably be convinced.

I also might play around with layouts that only have the primary legends, to see if I can come up with something that still captures the spirit of the original.

A lesson learned with a recent drop for a GMK set with pad printed legends was that their use on a key cap set design is controversial and a reason to complain and to not get into the buy; people that are accustomed to the cheap pad printing used in stock key cap sets think that GMK pad printing will run off quickly, as quickly as those cheap sets printing. My experience with OG Cherry is that they last for ages with no signs of wear, but I cannot say that the same applies to GMK. This is one important point, no one has long time experience with GMK pad printing to offer witness testimony on its longevity. Considering this you may try to quote side printing, that may rule this out as a potential issue and another reason for people not to get into the buy. Besides, having these legends side pad printed would be a first and it could make this one a very special set on its own right, a set that will be a legend. If the quotation is too high, you may re-consider the use of pad printing, because in an expensive set like this there is no room for the risk to have a worn off legend after few months.

I share your concerns about pad printing. We all know that it doesn't hold up very well on the budget cap sets, but how long lasting is GMK's pad printing process? I don't store my boards inside of display cases, I use them. I'm not going to pay a premium for any caps that can not stand up to daily use, no matter how attractive they are. Can anyone allay my fears about the pad printing process, as executed by GMK?

i would suggest you check out the electric bluegaloo thread. there were side-printed legends on some of those caps. incredibly good quality. i dont know if anyone can attest to the longevity of GMK's pad printing, but the legend quality is certainly some of the best in the world

I'm not questioning how GMK's pad printed legends would look. I'm sure that they would be nothing short of beautiful.

Similarly, I wouldn't have any reservations about using pad printing for side-printed legends, since they would not be exposed to any meaningful wear in that position. As a matter of fact, I have some cheap side printed legends on a daily driver and after a year of abuse, they still look brand new. Using pad printing on a wear surface, however, is the open question in my mind. Some keysets notoriously show signs of wear after only a couple of weeks of daily use. If I had spent $19 for a set that wore quickly, I'd chalk it up to getting what I paid for. If, on the other hand, I paid $200 for a set that wore like that, I'd be extremely disappointed.

personally, i dont like the feel of pad-printed keys. feels like the keys have dirt and grime on them or something. i dont plan to use this set on a daily driver, but that being said, i would not want any of the aesthetics of the design to be compromised for any reason. This is probably one of the most interesting sets i am following right now

This is an example of a recent side pad printed key cap, the quality is great and being side printed means it would not get any wear. As someone wrote you may ask GMK if triple shot might be feasible, that may mean some additional tooling for legends at least, or even some molds, if the last are needed it may not be feasible at all due to a considerable investment, in any case, asking only would not do any harm.

I also like the secondary legends in the original set, if they are as good as OG Cherry's that would be very good, but the point here is not one's opinion, but how good the set is in the mind of most, in order for the set to reach MoQ.

This is a very unique set and I'd love to see it reach MOQ and be produced.

I think in the current state of the wider community there would be more interest going forward if the secondary legends were pad printed on the side. It may not be exactly true to the original, but side-printing would look sharp with those colors and give people the longevity that is demanded nowadays. From a design perspective, it literally opens a new dimension of text to the eyes, which would be an awesome color effect in my opinion.

Love this. Will definitely be supporting it when it comes to fruition.

Just one note: It might just be my screen or my eyes but to me it appears that the legends should be V2 and not N6. Its a little hard to tell what the actual color is on the NASA PGSC from the photos and I think ideally it would be somewhere between those two colors but to my eyes it looks like V2 is closer to the color you have in your rendering.

Love this. Will definitely be supporting it when it comes to fruition.

Just one note: It might just be my screen or my eyes but to me it appears that the legends should be V2 and not N6. Its a little hard to tell what the actual color is on the NASA PGSC from the photos and I think ideally it would be somewhere between those two colors but to my eyes it looks like V2 is closer to the color you have in your rendering.

You may be right. KLE is a bit finicky for color accuracy. Although more of an amber would match the 1530, I went with the N6 because it seemed closer and is a dead ringer for the yellow on the first generation Compass. It would also avoid just reproducing the V2 on N9 from SkiData+.

You may be right. KLE is a bit finicky for color accuracy. Although more of an amber would match the 1530, I went with the N6 because it seemed closer and is a dead ringer for the yellow on the first generation Compass. It would also avoid just reproducing the V2 on N9 from SkiData+.

If anyone wants to watch a really great documentary (in general) and wants to hear the story behind the design of the Grid computer, you should all check out the (relatively old ~ 4-5 yrs) documentary titled "Objectified." It focuses on industrial design and they interview the designer of the Grid through the course of it!

Any chance to have an accented yellow/orange ISO Enter key like the ANSI Enter included?

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Seriously though, I'll definitely throw in another ISO enter if the demand is high enough. Otherwise got to keep the extras to a minimum.

@tintoret:

Any update on this? This set shall be produced.

A set like this deserves to be in any serious mechanical keyboard user and collector's collection, it will be like having a sample of one of the best examples of keyboard history, a keyboard serving as part of a high tech, for its era, computer system; by its colors alone, it would be one of the best looking key set that it is also very classy, that has just the right amount of orange and cyan highlights; just in case those attributes may not be enough, it will be manufactured by GMK, what else a keyboard lover could ask for in a set.

Any chance to have an accented yellow/orange ISO Enter key like the ANSI Enter included?

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Seriously though, I'll definitely throw in another ISO enter if the demand is high enough. Otherwise got to keep the extras to a minimum.

@tintoret:

Any update on this? This set shall be produced.

A set like this deserves to be in any serious mechanical keyboard user and collector's collection, it will be like having a sample of one of the best examples of keyboard history, a keyboard serving as part of a high tech, for its era, computer system; by its colors alone, it would be one of the best looking key set that it is also very classy, that has just the right amount of orange and cyan highlights; just in case those attributes may not be enough, it will be manufactured by GMK, what else a keyboard lover could ask for in a set.

No updates yet, but I'll be getting back to it soon. It's great to hear the enthusiasm!

Some group buy leaders are hype masters, that are posting all the time, as if they were full time geekhackers; in the other hand, the GB leader for this set is just like you and me, a mech-keyboard enthusiast, that has had a brilliant idea: to make a GMK set after the famous Grid computer, that was a landmark in portable computers history. Do not be fooled, this thread is not bumped all the time, nor the OP is claiming to have fixed GMK molding process; this is not a colorful orange, neither a manly unicorn mix; but, this is a set that any serious mechanical keyboard aficionado deserves to have and use, imagine a sixty keyboard fully dressed with a piece of PC history; now, you would be able to type on a museum quality device, everyday...

Some group buy leaders are hype masters, that are posting all the time, as if they were full time geekhackers; in the other hand, the GB leader for this set is just like you and me, a mech-keyboard enthusiast, that has had a brilliant idea: to make a GMK set after the famous Grid computer, that was a landmark in portable computers history. Do not be fooled, this thread is not bumped all the time, nor the OP is claiming to have fixed GMK molding process; this is not a colorful orange, neither a manly unicorn mix; but, this is a set that any serious mechanical keyboard aficionado deserves to have and use, imagine a sixty keyboard fully dressed with a piece of PC history; now, you would be able to type on a museum quality device, everyday...

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Thanks! Yeah, I've been pretty busy with life, but I'm really excited to see if we can get this set to production. It has not been forgotten! For those asking about the poll, the results seem to be indecisively hovering around 50-50. I'd love to see a top printed set for aesthetic reasons, but I want to be sure that the legend quality will be up to par and I share everyone's ambivalence about the durability of pad printing. It would be a shame to put together a recreation set that doesn't last. So it's likely the set won't run until there is a stronger general impression about the quality of GMKs contemporary pad printing process. (Maybe after some feedback from the folks who picked up Royal Alpha?)

In the meantime I'd love to hear feedback about what requests people have for layout support, and any other thoughts on how to improve the set. Also, since this would be my first GB, it's likely it would need to go through a vendor, or with support from a more experienced GH member so that people feel more secure in participating.

Some group buy leaders are hype masters, that are posting all the time, as if they were full time geekhackers; in the other hand, the GB leader for this set is just like you and me, a mech-keyboard enthusiast, that has had a brilliant idea: to make a GMK set after the famous Grid computer, that was a landmark in portable computers history. Do not be fooled, this thread is not bumped all the time, nor the OP is claiming to have fixed GMK molding process; this is not a colorful orange, neither a manly unicorn mix; but, this is a set that any serious mechanical keyboard aficionado deserves to have and use, imagine a sixty keyboard fully dressed with a piece of PC history; now, you would be able to type on a museum quality device, everyday...

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Thanks! Yeah, I've been pretty busy with life, but I'm really excited to see if we can get this set to production. It has not been forgotten! For those asking about the poll, the results seem to be indecisively hovering around 50-50. I'd love to see a top printed set for aesthetic reasons, but I want to be sure that the legend quality will be up to par and I share everyone's ambivalence about the durability of pad printing. It would be a shame to put together a recreation set that doesn't last. So it's likely the set won't run until there is a stronger general impression about the quality of GMKs contemporary pad printing process. (Maybe after some feedback from the folks who picked up Royal Alpha?)

In the meantime I'd love to hear feedback about what requests people have for layout support, and any other thoughts on how to improve the set. Also, since this would be my first GB, it's likely it would need to go through a vendor, or with support from a more experienced GH member so that people feel more secure in participating.

Wise reasoning and mature arguments make for a good planning process for this set.

I also share the concerns on pad printing longevity; however, I found them unjustified, if GMK uses the same manufacturing processes Cherry used, the reliability of their pad printing is close to OG sets that seem to last forever. I suggest you to contact GMK and ask if the pad printing they are using is of similar quality to old Cherry sets.

Regarding layout, I suggest you to include a row 3 `~ key and a row 4 \| key that go with US layouts with ISO enter; the keys you are suggesting are redundant with other keys in the set and they may work only if the set had the rest of keys to support an European language, that is not the case, neither the set would be mix and match with any other set due to its special color, therefore, there is no reason to include but ANSI compatible keys that may allow any user to take advantage of the set with either ANSI or ISO Enter keys. I can elaborate on this argument further if you are interested, but think on this feature as having only two strategies, to include full UK ISO support, that is the closest to ANSI with ISO enter, or to use an NCR styled layout back in the days when all the sets had an ISO enter, their ANSI keyboards had the keys I suggested, along with the standard US layout, exactly as your design.

With white on black currently running, wouldn't this have more success as an add-on?

Needs bars, obviously.

There's no point imo, you'd only use ~15 alpha keys and that's it, making an add-on ~100+ keys anyway. So there's no point.

Also, soon...

+1 for top printed, there is a noticeable texture difference but the quality is outstanding and will last a very long time. I wasn't a fan of this set when I first saw it but it's really grown on me, I'll definitely try to participate if possible.

With white on black currently running, wouldn't this have more success as an add-on?

Needs bars, obviously.

There's no point imo, you'd only use ~15 alpha keys and that's it, making an add-on ~100+ keys anyway. So there's no point.

Also, soon...

+1 for top printed, there is a noticeable texture difference but the quality is outstanding and will last a very long time. I wasn't a fan of this set when I first saw it but it's really grown on me, I'll definitely try to participate if possible.

Will be surely successful then since it's mixing skidata and wob, which are highly sought after.

With white on black currently running, wouldn't this have more success as an add-on?

Needs bars, obviously.

There's no point imo, you'd only use ~15 alpha keys and that's it, making an add-on ~100+ keys anyway. So there's no point.

Also, soon...

+1 for top printed, there is a noticeable texture difference but the quality is outstanding and will last a very long time. I wasn't a fan of this set when I first saw it but it's really grown on me, I'll definitely try to participate if possible.

With white on black currently running, wouldn't this have more success as an add-on?

Needs bars, obviously.

There's no point imo, you'd only use ~15 alpha keys and that's it, making an add-on ~100+ keys anyway. So there's no point.

Also, soon...

+1 for top printed, there is a noticeable texture difference but the quality is outstanding and will last a very long time. I wasn't a fan of this set when I first saw it but it's really grown on me, I'll definitely try to participate if possible.

The number of poll responses has been really encouraging. Top-printing is winning out, but the margin is pretty thin. I'm also really glad to hear that the folks with printed sets have been satisfied with the quality. As for an update, I've been caught up with some heavy research work and haven't had much time to put in, but I hope to pick things back up soon.

With white on black currently running, wouldn't this have more success as an add-on?

Needs bars, obviously.

There's no point imo, you'd only use ~15 alpha keys and that's it, making an add-on ~100+ keys anyway. So there's no point.

Also, soon...

+1 for top printed, there is a noticeable texture difference but the quality is outstanding and will last a very long time. I wasn't a fan of this set when I first saw it but it's really grown on me, I'll definitely try to participate if possible.

The number of poll responses has been really encouraging. Top-printing is winning out, but the margin is pretty thin. I'm also really glad to hear that the folks with printed sets have been satisfied with the quality. As for an update, I've been caught up with some heavy research work and haven't had much time to put in, but I hope to pick things back up soon.

AZiMUTH has not been forgotten!

Glad to know about you, is there any chance you may add a 6u space bar? The base color is not exactly black; thus, while a black space bar would be mixed it would not match.

Hi guys, I may be a bit late to the party here, but I'm hoping to chime in on the pad print discussion. I've got on hand a Dolch set (one of Ivan's GB) which has ISO-UK legends front-printed on some of the caps, and to compare, I've got ISO-UK Dolch cap from an actual Dolch Pac keyboard. Here's a quick comparison:

The quality of the printing is good, and the size/font of the printed legends is a perfect match with the actual double-shot legends, so I have good confidence in GMK's pad printing process. As far as the set go, I think pad-printing of the special legends would be a good way forward (I have taken another photo here if you want to have a better look but sorry for the potato quality photos: https://imgur.com/a/6xn4X)

As a side request, is it possible to have the ISO-UK legends printed onto the relevant caps (be it side-print or front-print)? I think it would fit with the overall theme (since quite a few keys already have sublegends) and it would boost the desirability of the set. I for one would be ecstatic if this was possible (basically 6 keys needs to be changed just like the way these Dolch caps were done). Full ISO doubleshot keys would be ideal really, but any accommodation to a full ISO-UK coverage would get an instant buy from me!

Let me know if this is possible without significantly affecting the set price.

Hi guys, I may be a bit late to the party here, but I'm hoping to chime in on the pad print discussion. I've got on hand a Dolch set (one of Ivan's GB) which has ISO-UK legends front-printed on some of the caps, and to compare, I've got ISO-UK Dolch cap from an actual Dolch Pac keyboard. Here's a quick comparison:

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The quality of the printing is good, and the size/font of the printed legends is a perfect match with the actual double-shot legends, so I have good confidence in GMK's pad printing process. As far as the set go, I think pad-printing of the special legends would be a good way forward (I have taken another photo here if you want to have a better look but sorry for the potato quality photos: https://imgur.com/a/6xn4X)

As a side request, is it possible to have the ISO-UK legends printed onto the relevant caps (be it side-print or front-print)? I think it would fit with the overall theme (since quite a few keys already have sublegends) and it would boost the desirability of the set. I for one would be ecstatic if this was possible (basically 6 keys needs to be changed just like the way these Dolch caps were done). Full ISO doubleshot keys would be ideal really, but any accommodation to a full ISO-UK coverage would get an instant buy from me!

Let me know if this is possible without significantly affecting the set price.

I think the set with side printed legends for the UK layout would rock; I just hope, it would not cost too much more because of the side printing.

I think the set with side printed legends for the UK layout would rock; I just hope, it would not cost too much more because of the side printing.

Actually, come to think of it, it's probably possible to have the UK sublegends entirely top-print and not bother with front-print at all. The 2 and 3 number row keys doesn't have any top print sublegends as of the latest render, so those could have the UK printed legends (" and £ respectively), then the ANSI " ' key could carry the @ sublegend instead of the tilde it currently carries (redundant). The R3 # ' could carry the tilde sublegend, ANSI tilde key could carry the UK sublegend, and the split ISO 1u could carry the extra backslash legends.

Duynguyenle's advice on Ivan's side printed legends is a great solution for the ISO-UK keys, that saves three keys in the set; also, it may allow the addition of US ANSI International sublegends covering the need of many international users if the choose to use an US ANSI layout.

I suggest the following alpha's side printed legends:

Here there are some samples of the keys with ISO-UK side printed legends, reported by duynguyenle:

ooo I am interested in this set, lots of GMK GBs going around... But I'm all for keysets that pay homage to tech history

voted for top printed legends because I like the busy look, and the original aesthetics. But if pad-printing on top proves to be less durable, I don't think there are enough unique keysets with front-printing.

I ACTUALLY HAVE A GRiD 1530 with the Gas-Plasma Display that still works (and Battery still lasts 40 minutes). This is me playing Ultima 3 over the Turkey Day Holiday. Let me know if you need more detailed pictures or other items to get a perfect match.

Oh, as a Correction to your statement at the beginning of the post, these are NOT PAD-PRINTED LEGENDS. They are in fact, Triple-Shot. I can supply pictures to this effect if so desired. Quality is GMK-level through and through with really thick full-shot ABS.

I ACTUALLY HAVE A GRiD 1530 with the Gas-Plasma Display that still works (and Battery still lasts 40 minutes). This is me playing Ultima 3 over the Turkey Day Holiday. Let me know if you need more detailed pictures or other items to get a perfect match.

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Oh, as a Correction to your statement at the beginning of the post, these are NOT PAD-PRINTED LEGENDS. They are in fact, Triple-Shot. I can supply pictures to this effect if so desired. Quality is GMK-level through and through with really thick full-shot ABS.

This is amazing, unfortunately GMK does not have the capacity to perform triple-shot keycaps (Tombery had conversations with them already about this).

In light of this, I would still want pad-print as a stopgap until GMK can do triple shot (if that ever happens...)

I ACTUALLY HAVE A GRiD 1530 with the Gas-Plasma Display that still works (and Battery still lasts 40 minutes). This is me playing Ultima 3 over the Turkey Day Holiday. Let me know if you need more detailed pictures or other items to get a perfect match.

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Oh, as a Correction to your statement at the beginning of the post, these are NOT PAD-PRINTED LEGENDS. They are in fact, Triple-Shot. I can supply pictures to this effect if so desired. Quality is GMK-level through and through with really thick full-shot ABS.

Wow, I think you should post some high quality pictures somewhere, maybe at the DT Wiki or somewhere like that for KB records to have a reference of a key set with triple shot legends.

The Switches are pretty unique as well being a weirdly tactile Rubber dome + Click Leaf+ Spring+ Slider hybrid and they are STIFF. Its as heavy if not moreso than some older cherry Green board I have around, but extremely linear in its action (clicky though). The Spring under the Slider activates the Leaf which depresses the dome, so the actuation is in the midstroke and not at the bottom out.

Current Colors for the Red (which is slightly pinkish) and Blue don't look totally accurate to what we have at home in the Grid, but will take some pictures with the DSLR later.

I ACTUALLY HAVE A GRiD 1530 with the Gas-Plasma Display that still works (and Battery still lasts 40 minutes). This is me playing Ultima 3 over the Turkey Day Holiday. Let me know if you need more detailed pictures or other items to get a perfect match.

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Oh, as a Correction to your statement at the beginning of the post, these are NOT PAD-PRINTED LEGENDS. They are in fact, Triple-Shot. I can supply pictures to this effect if so desired. Quality is GMK-level through and through with really thick full-shot ABS.

Triple-Shot??!Who was the maker?So key cap making technology has recessed? Not only they are not able to make double-shot POM yet.

I ACTUALLY HAVE A GRiD 1530 with the Gas-Plasma Display that still works (and Battery still lasts 40 minutes). This is me playing Ultima 3 over the Turkey Day Holiday. Let me know if you need more detailed pictures or other items to get a perfect match.

Show Image

Oh, as a Correction to your statement at the beginning of the post, these are NOT PAD-PRINTED LEGENDS. They are in fact, Triple-Shot. I can supply pictures to this effect if so desired. Quality is GMK-level through and through with really thick full-shot ABS.

Triple-Shot??!Who was the maker?So key cap making technology has recessed? Not only they are not able to make double-shot POM yet.

Triple shot caps definitely exists, I used to have an old typewriter with triple shot caps. And no, technology hasn't regressed. Much the opposite. But remember, cost-benefit analysis is a thing. It's not cheap to make double shot keycaps, and doubly so for triple shot. That's why manufacturers don't usually bother these days and 90% of the stuff you see on keyboards is pad-print

I ACTUALLY HAVE A GRiD 1530 with the Gas-Plasma Display that still works (and Battery still lasts 40 minutes). This is me playing Ultima 3 over the Turkey Day Holiday. Let me know if you need more detailed pictures or other items to get a perfect match.

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Oh, as a Correction to your statement at the beginning of the post, these are NOT PAD-PRINTED LEGENDS. They are in fact, Triple-Shot. I can supply pictures to this effect if so desired. Quality is GMK-level through and through with really thick full-shot ABS.

Triple-Shot??!Who was the maker?So key cap making technology has recessed? Not only they are not able to make double-shot POM yet.

Triple shot caps definitely exists, I used to have an old typewriter with triple shot caps. And no, technology hasn't regressed. Much the opposite. But remember, cost-benefit analysis is a thing. It's not cheap to make double shot keycaps, and doubly so for triple shot. That's why manufacturers don't usually bother these days and 90% of the stuff you see on keyboards is pad-print

Each triple shot plastic component takes the costs, materials and labor required for three injection parts, plus the labor to mount the inner layer to mold the outer; furthermore, molds are more complex and their maintenance cost is higher than single shot moldsl. A triple shot part should be close to four times the cost of a single shot part. Add to it the fact that the market for such high cost key caps is very limited and what we have is a high cost product with almost no market, we all know that main stream keyboards have low cost keys.

Some group buy leaders are hype masters, that are posting all the time, as if they were full time geekhackers; in the other hand, the GB leader for this set is just like you and me, a mech-keyboard enthusiast, that has had a brilliant idea: to make a GMK set after the famous Grid computer, that was a landmark in portable computers history. Do not be fooled, this thread is not bumped all the time, nor the OP is claiming to have fixed GMK molding process; this is not a colorful orange, neither a manly unicorn mix; but, this is a set that any serious mechanical keyboard aficionado deserves to have and use, imagine a sixty keyboard fully dressed with a piece of PC history; now, you would be able to type on a museum quality device, everyday...

Not abandoned or forgotten, but definitely on hold for the time being. I'm hoping to find some time to give this more attention, but I want to avoid organizing a buy half-assed because of other commitments.

Feedback is still very much welcome. As of right now, the results for the poll are 2/3 for top-printed and 1/3 for front-printed.

You may be right. KLE is a bit finicky for color accuracy. Although more of an amber would match the 1530, I went with the N6 because it seemed closer and is a dead ringer for the yellow on the first generation Compass. It would also avoid just reproducing the V2 on N9 from SkiData+.

How could anyone not love this?

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Looking at this photo

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You were totally right with picking N6. Cheers. Carry on.

Is it just me?

The base color of caps on both photos looks not much like N9 but more like CR to me.

You may be right. KLE is a bit finicky for color accuracy. Although more of an amber would match the 1530, I went with the N6 because it seemed closer and is a dead ringer for the yellow on the first generation Compass. It would also avoid just reproducing the V2 on N9 from SkiData+.

How could anyone not love this?

More

Show Image

Looking at this photo

Show Image

You were totally right with picking N6. Cheers. Carry on.

Is it just me?

The base color of caps on both photos looks not much like N9 but more like CR to me.

actually, yeah. it does look like the base color is black in all the pictures. personally, i would like to see this done with N9 base, though.

I need this. I Have never joined a GMK full set gb ever because I've been waiting for something like this.If and when you do this my vote is top print and front print only for bottom row as someone else said earlier.

You may be right. KLE is a bit finicky for color accuracy. Although more of an amber would match the 1530, I went with the N6 because it seemed closer and is a dead ringer for the yellow on the first generation Compass. It would also avoid just reproducing the V2 on N9 from SkiData+.

How could anyone not love this?

More

Show Image

Looking at this photo

Show Image

You were totally right with picking N6. Cheers. Carry on.

Is it just me?

The base color of caps on both photos looks not much like N9 but more like CR to me.

actually, yeah. it does look like the base color is black in all the pictures. personally, i would like to see this done with N9 base, though.

Good to be picking this up again. Part of the reason for the delay is that I don't have the experience or infrastructure to run this by myself, so I'm hoping to hear from people that have advice about running this through a vendor, or would like to work together to make this happen. I was initially worried about printing splitting interest, but the response for the set has been overwhelmingly positive so hopefully it can hit MOQ.

The last post of the OP was back on March. It seems improbable this takes off any time soon.

For the record, I'm still around. I'm hesitant to move on this, in part because the aesthetic is pretty dependent on top secondary legends that could only be implemented through pad printing, which is generally unpopular, and in part because there has been a massive increase in the number of GMK sets run/proposed compared to when this project started, which is a hurdle in terms of meeting MOQ absent support from a vendor with better exposure and infrastructure. If there are any vendors interested, or if anyone has contacts that might be, I'd love to Take this forward. But it doesn't seem like something I could do individually.

The last post of the OP was back on March. It seems improbable this takes off any time soon.

For the record, I'm still around. I'm hesitant to move on this, in part because the aesthetic is pretty dependent on top secondary legends that could only be implemented through pad printing, which is generally unpopular, and in part because there has been a massive increase in the number of GMK sets run/proposed compared to when this project started, which is a hurdle in terms of meeting MOQ absent support from a vendor with better exposure and infrastructure. If there are any vendors interested, or if anyone has contacts that might be, I'd love to Take this forward. But it doesn't seem like something I could do individually.

Facts are undisputed. I just hope somehow this can move forward, as it is a very special color way.

The last post of the OP was back on March. It seems improbable this takes off any time soon.

For the record, I'm still around. I'm hesitant to move on this, in part because the aesthetic is pretty dependent on top secondary legends that could only be implemented through pad printing, which is generally unpopular, and in part because there has been a massive increase in the number of GMK sets run/proposed compared to when this project started, which is a hurdle in terms of meeting MOQ absent support from a vendor with better exposure and infrastructure. If there are any vendors interested, or if anyone has contacts that might be, I'd love to Take this forward. But it doesn't seem like something I could do individually.